Yes, I had a bit of an incident at Mixed Martial Arts class the other night, but I'll get to that in a few.  The reason is, there are a couple of other things I'd like to go over, and I want to give you a chance to not read any further.  If you choose to, then don't come crying to me when you see the picture I post...hahaha.  Oh it's not THAT bad.  Anyway, I was ecstatic that "South Park" started their new season last night, and it didn't let me down.  Oh sure, it's not a classic episode, but the whole way it plays off the fact that there is actual legislation being discussed to ban the term "illegal immigrant" cracked me up.  I can't express enough how furious I am over this entire thing.  WHAT DO PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTAND???  I was watching Glenn Beck's TV show last night, and he was talking to two people about illegal immigration...one of which was some dude who was a head of some group like "Latino Rights In America" or something like that.  Now the thing that really pisses me off about this topic is when I've been confronted about hating Mexicans because I'm against illegal immigration.  That's just complete crap...I make fun of all races equally including whites...hahaha.  Seriously though, race has NOTHING to do with it.  I just can't stand leeches who don't play by the rules...I don't care where they are from.  Of course this guy on Glenn Beck's show said something about how the Pilgrims were illegal immigrants and blah blah blah.  I'm sick of hearing that.  Ok, let me be EXTREMELY politically incorrect for a moment.  The way I see it, if the Indians...I'm sorry, "Native Americans", really didn't want the evil white man here then they would have fought harder.  It was a conquest, plain and simple.  Yes, I know that's horrible to say, but it's true.  I hate that term "Native American" because if you want to really get technical, I'm a native American.  After all, I was born here, right?  It's like the term "African American" which I can't stand.  I had a teacher in college who was black and hated that term because she was from Jamaica and didn't want to be classified with that term.  Anyway, Beck was talking to this dude and he was talking about cities that provide safe haven for illegals and how great it is because the local police shouldn't be "harassing" these poor people.  Beck asked how the guy would feel if a city gave safe haven to pot smokers and the guy said he would be against it because smoking pot is against the law.  Beck was like "WHAT??", and informed the dude that sneaking into the country was against the law also.  This guy stated that "undocumented workers" weren't breaking the law...they were just VIOLATING the law...which is ok I guess.  I'm watching this and honestly can't believe that there are that many people who lack basics of common sense, because what this guy was saying is the summation of all the idiotic talking points that pro-illegal groups use.  I swear, what I would love to see are millions of people refuse to pay income taxes for a year.  After all, the government can't enforce a law that millions are breaking and are ready to grant amnesty...so what would happen if millions broke the law and refused to pay taxes?  Hey, no taxation without representation, right?  Do you have representation?  I don't.  And 2008 does not look any better for elections.  The ONLY person I will vote for president is Tom Tancredo.  I will not vote for Rudy Gulliani because he cheated on his wife...and I will NEVER vote for someone who did that because they have already shown a complete lack of character.  John McCain?  An absolute flake.  Mitt Romney?  Heck, he just launched ads in Florida that are in Spanish, but there I go being a hate monger again.  And I don't care if Hillary Clinton is on the other side, I will not vote for the lesser of two evils...I refuse to.  If Tom Tancredo isn't on the ballot then I won't be voting for a president unless another candidate appears that truly gets it.  And I know Ann Coulter was under fire this week for referring to John Edwards as a "faggot"...but so what?  You have to see the entire context to get the point she was making.  Now I will say I wouldn't use that term in a speech, but she did and liberals are up in arms over it.  Did she apologize?  No...and I love her for it.  If she would put on about 20 pounds she would be my ultimate woman.  Heck, she's got bigger balls then just about anyone in Washington.  She was making a reference to the incident involving some dude from the TV show "Grey's Anatomy", but it didn't matter...liberals are demanding an apology.  Well when in the hell do I get MY apology???  After all, I'm a guy who is a Christian, against illegal immigration, hate the fact our government uses our tax dollars to give money to lazy bums...yet I'm called a racist, hate monger, bigot, and insensitive, but I'm just supposed to take it.  Whatever, I can sleep well knowing I'm not some wuss who will cry about every little name I might be called.  Offend a Muslim and CAIR is all over you, offend someone who is gay and gay rights groups are all over you, speak out about illegal immigration and "undocumented worker" groups are all over you.  Oh I know from experience...remember, I ran for the Senate last year and said a lot of things that ruffled some feathers.  People have become so thin-skinned that they can't tell these remarks don't mean hatred at all.  Ok, enough on this.  I'm just sick of being told what a hate monger I am because I disagree with how someone lives.  It doesn't mean I hate them at all.  It's like I've heard in church - hate the sin but love the sinner.  Believe me when I say I can get a long with just about anyone, but it doesn't mean I have to embrace what they do.  I don't hate gay people, I don't hate Mexicans, I don't hate Muslims...but when I'm told I'm intolerant because I don't embrace same-sex marriage, illegal immigration, and beheadings broadcast on the internet, then so be it...I'm intolerant.

Let's switch gears drastically.  The art of Muay Thai...it's been around for centuries.  It's a fighting style that's taught to incapacitate the enemy.  It's a warrior's way.  It's a style passed down from generation to generation.  It's brutal in it's execution because you're taught to use elbows, knees, and shins...the hardest bones of the body...as weapons.  This past Monday night we went through the usual drills at the beginning...the cardio work and the grappling...and then we paired off.  We would take turns holding the Thai pads while the other person did their kicking and then switch.  Now, in case you don't know, Thai kicks don't involve the foot.  A Thai kick is where you use your shin to hit someone.  When done right it can take out someone's knee, break ribs, or result in an instant knockout.  So we paired off to practice kicks.  I held the pads first while my partner did his ten kicks.  Here's a picture which illustrates this -

See how the shin is connecting into the pads?  That was the drill.  Now, these pads aren't exactly soft.  They're thick and pretty tough...and that's because someone will be holding them and the one holding them doesn't want to take the brunt of a kick.  I'm holding the pads, and the dude I'm paired off with does his ten kicks with each leg, so then it's my turn.  Now, the guy I'm paired with is shorter than I am, and I kinda misjudged the distance a wee bit.  I took an extra step back and let my first kick fly - WHAM!!!  Oh it was a solid connection...just not with my shin.  My toes drove right into the pad (again, not some pillow) and it felt like someone had just smashed a hammer on my toes.  The other dude was like "ouch...you ok?" and of course I said "Oh yeah, I'm fine" and kept going with the drill while my toes were throbbing beyond belief.  I finished class and came home.  My toes hurt pretty bad, but I didn't think much of it...took a couple of Alleve and went to sleep.  Well, the next morning I woke, rolled out of bed, and planted my right foot on the floor.  I swear it felt like I got stabbed through the foot.  I looked down and here's what I saw -

My big toe and the knuckle was about three times the normal size, and any pressure I put on it was excruciating.  I also managed to take a nice chunk of skin off the 4th toe as well...which is weird because it didn't bleed.  I did a quick test to see if it was broken.  Do you know how to do this?  It isn't fun, but it works, and I know from experience since I've broken many fingers and toes before.  To find out if a toe is broken, you simply flick the tip of it fairly hard.  If it doesn't feel like a bolt of lightening shoots through it, it isn't broken.  No, I just jammed it really good.  Now that toe is messed up anyway because when I was about 17 I dropped a slab of wood on it while at a job, and the middle joint of it won't bend.  That's why I tape that toe up before class, because I've had a couple of times when it does bend against it's will when doing something, and when that happens I basically drop to my knees and cry like a little girl with a skinned knee...haha.  I'm probably lucky it doesn't bend, because if it did I probably would have broken it which would mean I couldn't go to class tonight.  Oh, did you think something like this was going to keep me from going again this week?  HA!  I'm too damn macho for that.  Seriously though, I can at least walk now without a major limp.  If you want to send cards, flowers, or money, just contact me and I'll give you the address...hahaha.  There isn't much I can think of that will keep me away from class.  Even when I had that major cold and bronchitis a couple of weeks ago, I went up there to at least watch what was going on.  I love it...it's probably the best thing I have been involved with in years.  Each class kicks my ass, but I need it...I really do.  Sitting in a cubicle all day pays pretty good and I can't complain about it, but the physical challenge of these Mixed Martial Arts classes is what I look forward to all day.  When we're going through the cardio drills at the end of class, everyone is completely exhausted but you have to dig down deep and push yourself.  And what's great about it, my instructor is saying stuff the whole time during the final cardio drills like "Everyone is sitting on a couch eating potato chips right now...but you're not...you want to be better than that...don't QUIT!" and "How far are you willing to go?  How much can you take?  Are you willing to push yourself beyond what you think you can do?  Then DO NOT give up!"  It's one thing for me to workout at home on my Bowflex and heavy bag, but when you have someone else pushing you it makes a HUGE difference.  That competitive part of me gets tapped and I want to finish strong.  I'll see some other guy doing the drills and gasping...and it makes me go harder so I can compete.  And I'll say this...I've seen guys in this class who look like they are in great shape and are still about to puke when the class is over...and I can hang with them.  It's awesome.  The one thing that truly appealed to me about football was those times when it was late in the game and the other team needed a yard on 4th down...if we stopped them we won...if they got the first down they kept going and could win.  You're tired, every muscle aches, but you have to suck it up for one more play and give it everything you've got.  The only problem was you might put everything into that play, but if someone else blows their assignment, then it may not matter how good you did.  This training is completely up to me...how far I can push myself...how tough I can be to stick with it...and I get the greatest rush when each class ends knowing I truly achieved self-satisfaction.  I cherish it because I can dig down deep and find out if I have the determination to stay with it.  Man...what a feeling it is.  I know, I'm probably getting to "deep" about it, but that's what does it for me.  I love how sore every muscle is the morning after a class...I love how I jammed my toes the other night because it happened while I was trying to accomplish something instead of sitting on the couch watching sit-coms after work...and I love going to the water fountain right after class ends and my arms are shaking when I push on the button to dispense water because all my energy has been depleted.  If I was married I would come home after class and hear "How did your little training session go?"...ARRRGGHH!!!!  I'll stop there because I do have a story for next time about...yep, you guessed it...women.  Plus I'm sure I'll have many glowing words of praise for the movie "300" which I'm going to see this weekend.

Later sportsfans!